The prior art is replete with methods and compositions for the treatment of wood, leather, concrete and other materials to preserve, protect or otherwise modify the material or the surface thereof. It is common practice, for example, to treat wood which is to be exposed to weather or buried to prevent discoloration, rot, attack by insects, fungus, worms, etc. While there are many approaches to this serious and continuing problem, most methods may be categorized within one or more of the following general approaches:
Coating to Seal the Surface:
This method is often used in conjunction with one or more additional methods and comprises forming a moisture barrier on the surface to be protected which prevents the moisture from reaching the body of the material. Paints, generally, e.g. drying oil, setting and emulsion paints, may be considered the largest group of coatings within this category. Bituminous tar is frequently used for this purpose. Other examples include: alkyd resins, U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,239; and thermosetting resins of various types, U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,200.
Toxic Material Treatment:
Arsenic compounds and compounds of other heavy metals and other compounds which are toxic to insects, worms, etc. and which may or may not protect against fungus and wet or dry rot are often impregnated into wood, etc. Such compounds are often forced under pressure into the body of wood which is to buried or used on foundations or in humid climates, etc., to protect the entire body, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,379,073. Among the exemplary compositions which have been used in these treatments and which may be used as an additional factor in the methods of the present invention are: alkyl ammonium salts, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,074; molybdenum or sodium tungstate, U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,468; boric acid and borates, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,461,721, 4,400,298; mixtures of carboxamide compounds and organic aluminum compounds, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,448; Phenol and phenol based compounds, pentachlorophenols in particular, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,433,031, 4,388,215, 4,288,249; halogen containing organic compounds of many types, e.g. halo-acrylic acid, U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,766, halo substituted ethers, U.S. Pat. No. 3,629,477, halo-substituted polymers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,626; sulfonic acids, halo-sulfonic acids and sulfamides, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,402,980, 4,148,901; copper, zinc and chromate salts, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,374,852 and 4,323,447; organic ionizable compounds such as quaternary ammonium halides, and phosphorus and sulfur containing organic acids, U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,385; halosulfamides, U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,093; fluoromides, U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,241; hydroxylamines, U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,153, organotin compounds, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,889,025 and 3,839,052; hydroxylamines, U.S. Pat. No. 3,725,544; isoxazole derivatives, U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,796; carbamyltetrahydropyrimidines, U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,522; indoles, U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,747; substituted quinolizines, U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,668; and oxazolines, U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,428. Tertiary and secondary butyl dinitrophenols with and without heavy metal salts, e.g. chromium, arsenic, etc., or fluorine compounds are known to be preservatives, Conradie, W. E. and Pizzi, A., Holzforschung and Holzverwertung 37 (1985) 3, pp 50-56.
Water Repellants:
Hydrophobic materials, alone or in combination with other materials, are commonly used to fill the pores, coat the fibers or form a film to prevent access by water and the elements to the material to be protected: e.g. paraffin waxes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,047; U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,446; oxysilazanes, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,013,074, 3,665,027; and siloxanes, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,956,174 and 3,702,769.
Some of the compositions exhibit more than one protective characteristic and, therefore, it is often only partially correct to categorize a composition within a given activity characterization, thus the above categories must be viewed as a general classification of a principal mode of action only.
While it can be predicted that certain classes of compounds can be expected to exhibit a preservative effect if they can be applied in a form and manner in which they will adhere to the material to be protected, e.g. halogen compounds of several types, phenolic compounds and heavy metal compounds, it is generally impossible to predict the effect of a given composition as a preservative. One major problem with many preservatives is that they destroy or greatly affect the surface of the material to be protected in a deleterious way. Some materials cover the surface, thus losing the entire texture and color of the surface, and some, especially water containing preservatives, heavy metal compounds, etc., discolor the surface. Most protective materials tend to reduce the coloration and texture of the surface and, thus greatly reduce the aesthetic effect of a surface. This is very important with respect to wood, for example, and often with respect to leather and concrete. Some protective and preservative materials make wood and concrete floors quite slick and, therefore unsafe for walking, thus precluding or limiting the utility in such applications.
It is a significant feature of this invention to provide a composition and a method, as well as a product, wherein the surface of the product is protected from the effects of moisture and aging and wherein the surface characteristics such as color and texture are enhanced.